Features

No barefoot reading, please 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A public library isn’t trampling on a patron’s constitutional rights by requiring him to wear shoes inside the building, a judge has ruled. 

The judge threw out Robert Neinast’s freedom of expression lawsuit Wednesday, and agreed with the library that the barefoot ban protects patrons from exposure to broken glass, blood and other bodily fluids that have been found on its floors. 

“We think the rules are reasonable and are for the good of all customers,” said library Director Larry Black. 

Neinast, who had been asked to leave the downtown library for being barefoot several times from 1997 to 2001, said he sued the Columbus Metropolitan Library for blocking his healthy lifestyle and First Amendment rights. 

“If any bureaucrat can make a rule regarding health and safety, state parks could make everyone wear sunscreen,” Neinast said.